The present invention is directed toward a golf chipping target and, more particularly, toward a golf chipping target adapted to entrap a golf ball therein. The present invention is particularly suited to be thrown through the air and land in an upright position.
The game of golf has enjoyed increasing popularity over the years. Millions of people in the United States alone play the game one or more times per year. It is a difficult game to master and requires many hours of practice to become proficient. An especially difficult aspect of golf involves hitting the ball when it is located a relatively short distance from the green, i.e. within 100 yards. This is commonly referred to as the short game. It is desirable to hit the ball with a high trajectory when it is so located.
Golf is both relatively expensive and time consuming as compared to other sports. Many people simply do not have the time or money to play a full round of golf (18 holes) on a regular basis. Moreover, even if the golfer is fortunate enough to be able to frequently play the game, it is difficult for him to obtain the required practice while actually playing on a course. This is because the golfer cannot hit ball after ball while on a particular hole as other golfers are usually waiting to tee off behind him and would not tolerate such a delay.
It is appreciated that a number of driving ranges presently exist that enable a golfer to consecutively hit one ball after another. However, a drawback to such practice areas is that driving range facilities do not adequately provide the variety of play associated with the game of golf. For example, holes are not placed at various locations to allow the golfer to improve his accuracy by chipping shots toward a particular hole. In addition, driving ranges are often not conveniently located.
It is a common routine for golfers to practice their strokes on virtually any open grass covered area. Some golfers will dig a number of holes at various positions in the ground. They can then practice their game, especially their short game, by trying to loft balls into the holes. However, this can become boring as there is no variety in the location of the holes once they are dug.
Accordingly, over the years many different types of movable targets have been developed to enable a golfer to place the target on the ground and then pitch or chip a golf ball into the target after moving some distance away. The golfer is able to control the location of the hole and the distance he will be from the hole when hitting the golf ball. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,063,119, 1,540,350 and 3,752,482. A common drawback to all of these prior devices is that they require the golfer to physically pick up the practice device, place it at a desired location, walk some distance away from the hole and then pitch a ball into the hole. The golfer can not simply toss the target through the air and then hit a ball from the position he was standing in when the target was thrown.